Archive for the ‘Future’ Category

At Future Trends this year, I had the luxury of listening to Dr. Mark Liponis, Corporate Medical Director at Canyon Ranch, speak about living in a toxic world. This is stuff we don’t like to think about but should, every once in a while.

Nanoparticles – Manufacturers not federally regulated to state they they use them on their ingredient lists. (The European Parliament and the U.K. require mandatory labeling of nanoparticles and ban them in certain sunscreens.)

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) – We don’t know the effects on our health and there is no label requirement. Soy products are predominantly GMO’s.

Phthalates – the softeners in plastics such as soft toys, IV tubing, baby bottle nipples, gel caps on vitamins and supplements. These are considered endocrine system disruptors.

Cosmic Rays – Really, any form of radiation such as x-rays, catscans, imaging, security at airports or air travel, when you are not as protected by the earth’s atmosphere. Flying from NY-LA is equivalent to getting a chest x-ray!

Rocket Fuel (Perchlorate) – common water contaminant in the US, also in fireworks and explosives. It disrupts the thyroid.

POS’s (Persistent Organic Pollutants) – Once POP’s get into the environment, there is no way to get rid of them, they have a very long lifespan.

Heavy Metals – Mercury, lead etc – Once they get into your system, they are there forever. They accumulate in the body, sequester and get in the bones. This is especially a problem with women and menopause. With naturally occurring bone-loss, the heavy metals are released and blood pressure tends to rise.

BPA – Bisphenol A – Very widespread chemical and an endocrine disruptor. BPA’s are found in CD’s, DVD’s, the heat printed receipts you get at the pump/the ATM and in metal cans to prevent food from touching the metal.

Second Hand Smoke – Lung Cancer is the 3rd leading cause of lung cancer and 3000 cases of lung cancer a year are attributed to second hand smoke.

Radon – It is in the earth’s crust and gets trapped in buildings, especially in new homes. The EPA will send you a test for an accurate reading. Oh, and also check your water while you’re at it.

This inventive show is a new collection of works that are a collaboration between Alex Dodge and Brookyln-based tech startup Generative. On view are prototypes such as “Sleep Talker’ which allows for an unconscious dialog on a kind of dream-based social network. Man, that is cool! Show closes Sunday, July 18th at Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery.

Dream catching continues to seep into culture with the upcoming release of Inception this weekend.

According to CNN, we spend approximately 60 hours a year on hold. Ughh.. Welcome Lucyphone, she does the holding for you. Genius. Check out their site for more information: www.lucyphone.com Oh, and it is free!

According to Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of the Department of Architecture and Design, “the acquisition relies on the assumption that physical possession of an object as a requirement for an acquisition is no longer necessary, and therefore it sets curators free to tag the world and acknowledge things that ‘cannot be had’ — because they are too big (buildings, Boeing 747’s, satellites), or because they are in the air and belong to everybody and to no one, like the @.”

This Earth saving cloud whitener is a great example! Seemingly straight from the Fifth Element, it’s actually being pursued by the National Center for Atmospheric Research as a low cost, high tech way to help cool the planet, according to CCNMoney.com These satellite-guided sailing ships would criss-cross the oceans, constantly spewing a fine stream of sea mist into the clouds. The salt particles in the sea mist would cause clouds to become denser, reflecting more sunlight back into space and keeping the planet cooler. It has no crew, the mist is powered by a turbine under the hull and each ship would cost $2 to 3M. With 1500 needed to keep the Earth at its current temperature, that makes the entire program cost just a few billion! Let’s see if it happens!

What does it mean to be green when it comes to fashion? It’s got to be more than just a color, or the way a garment is manufactured. It should concern itself with the bulk of the garment’s life, i.e. during its wash and wear cycles. That’s just one of the angles approached by the winners of Fashioning the Future at the London College of Fashion’s international student design competition awards last week in London.

The Bioneers Conference, going on right now in San Rafael CA, is an outstanding opportunity to open your mind to some of the most fundamental issues of bio-sustainability occurring in this country (and the world) at this exact moment. Take a listen to Michael Pollan’s wonderful talk and explore all the community has to offer: